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Loving My Mornings Again

There was a time when I actually got up at 5:00 AM and went grocery shopping for the week just so I could go alone. As crazy as that season of life was, when my kiddos were still so little and my husband worked long, tiring hours (and still does!), I really enjoyed my mornings alone. There’s something about mornings that makes me feel the same way as I feel about springtime and fall…that something new is on the horizon. Like Springtime, every morning is the promise of a fresh start.

But over the last 7 months, my life got even crazier, and my mornings went out the window. During the summer when my kids were sleeping late every day, I thoroughly enjoyed sleeping right along with them. And even though I needed the extra rest, I really didn’t enjoy waking up with them instead of before them. Every morning I could feel several set of eyes peering at me, willing me to wake up from sensing their stares. As soon as I peeled my eyes open, I heard, “Chock-it Milk please mom?” Something about getting up and my kids needing me before I even set my feet on the floor really annoyed me (for lack of a better word).

That’s one of the things I’ve loved about having my girls in public school…the fact that we all have to get up and get dressed early. With the help of Crystal Paine’s Make Over Your Mornings course, I’ve been slowly but surely creeping my way back to great mornings. So, I thought I’d share my progress with you.

6:00-I’m up and I get dressed, make Hannah’s lunch, and line up four chocolate milks on the counter

6:30-The kids’ alarms are going off. I help the girls get dressed and brush their teeth…the boys are on their own, doing their morning chores

7:00- We meet at the dining room table for breakfast and a morning devotional

7:30-Tim leaves with Lydia, the boys and I leave with Hannah

8:00-The boys and I are back home, ready to start our school day

I’ve found that with Hannah at public school this year and Lydia at preschool, I have to be super intentional about our days. I know that I want my girls to hear God’s Word before they walk out the door. I want them to see me still investing in that time with them, so our morning devotional time, though short and sweet, has really been so nice, and it’s given us a good start to our day.

There are still a few areas I’m tweaking. I used to love my morning porch time, which I am not getting right now, but I’m hoping to back up my alarm clock as I get more adjusted to the early mornings, and maybe get just a few minutes on the porch each morning before the family wakes up. On day four of Make Over Your Mornings, Crystal talks about having an incentive to get up, both an internal and external motivation. For me, the internal motivation is smooth, calm mornings where I can be intentional with my kids. My external incentive would definitely be to get my porch time back.

I wanted to let you all know that Crystal is offering a really big sale on her Make Over Your Mornings course this week. You can head over right now and download Day One for FREE. Yes, FREE! Then, on Tuesday, you can get the entire course for just $10. So, if you are interested in reclaiming your mornings, but not sure where to start, I’d highly recommend you check it out.

I’m curious…what would your internal and external incentives to get up early be?